[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 183 (Friday, September 20, 2019)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 49483-49484]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-20146]


 ========================================================================
 Proposed Rules
                                                 Federal Register
 ________________________________________________________________________
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 This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
 the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
 notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
 the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
 
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 

  Federal Register / Vol. 84, No. 183 / Friday, September 20, 2019 / 
Proposed Rules  

[[Page 49483]]



OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT

5 CFR Part 532

RIN 3206-AN93


Prevailing Rate Systems; Definition of Johnson County, Indiana, 
to a Nonappropriated Fund Federal Wage System Wage Area Wage Areas

AGENCY: Office of Personnel Management.

ACTION: Proposed rule.

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SUMMARY: The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) is issuing a proposed 
rule that would define Johnson County, Indiana, as an area of 
application county to the Hardin-Jefferson, Kentucky, nonappropriated 
fund (NAF) Federal Wage System (FWS) wage area. This change is 
necessary because there is one NAF FWS employee working in Johnson 
County, and the county is not currently defined to a NAF wage area.

DATES: Send comments on or before October 21, 2019.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by docket number and/or 
Regulatory Information Number (RIN) and title, by the following method:
     Federal Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.

All submissions received must include the agency name and docket number 
or RIN for this document. The general policy for comments and other 
submissions from members of the public is to make these submissions 
available for public viewing at http://www.regulations.gov as they are 
received without change, including any personal identifiers or contact 
information.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Madeline Gonzalez, by telephone at 
(202) 606-2858 or by email at [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: OPM is issuing a proposed rule that would 
define Johnson County, IN, as an area of application to the Hardin-
Jefferson, KY, NAF FWS wage area. The Department of Defense notified 
OPM that the Army and Air Force Exchange Service now has one NAF FWS 
employee at Camp Atterbury in Johnson County.
    Under section 532.219 of title 5, Code of Federal Regulations, each 
NAF wage area ``shall consist of one or more survey areas, along with 
nonsurvey areas, if any, having nonappropriated fund employees.'' 
Johnson County does not meet the regulatory criteria under 5 CFR 
532.219 to be established as a separate NAF wage area; however, 
nonsurvey counties may be combined with a survey area to form a wage 
area. Section 532.219 lists the regulatory criteria that OPM considers 
when defining FWS wage area boundaries. This regulation allows 
consideration of the following criteria: Proximity of largest activity 
in each county, transportation facilities and commuting patterns, and 
similarities of the counties in overall population, private employment 
in major industry categories, and kinds and sizes of private industrial 
establishments.
    Johnson County, IN, would be defined as an area of application to 
the Hardin-Jefferson, KY, NAF FWS wage area. The proximity criterion 
favors the Hardin-Jefferson wage area. The transportation facilities 
criterion does not favor one wage area more than another. However, 
there is more direct access from Camp Atterbury to Fort Knox, the host 
installation in the Hardin-Jefferson wage area, than from Camp 
Atterbury to Wright Patterson Air Force Base, the host installation in 
the Greene-Montgomery wage area. The commuting patterns criterion does 
not favor one wage area more than another. The difference between the 
resident workforce commuting to work in the Hardin-Jefferson and 
Greene-Montgomery survey areas is insignificant; however, marginally 
more people commute into the Hardin-Jefferson survey area (0.05%) than 
into the Greene-Montgomery survey area (0.02%). The overall population, 
employment sizes, and kinds and sizes of private industrial 
establishments criterion does not favor one wage area more than 
another. While a standard review of regulatory criteria shows mixed 
results, the proximity criterion favors the Hardin-Jefferson wage area. 
Based on this analysis, we propose that Johnson County be defined to 
the Hardin-Jefferson NAF wage area.
    With the definition of Johnson County to the Hardin-Jefferson NAF 
wage area, the Hardin-Jefferson wage area would consist of two survey 
counties (Hardin and Jefferson Counties, KY) and six area of 
application counties (Jefferson, Johnson, and Martin Counties, IN, and 
Fayette, Madison, and Warren Counties, KY). The Federal Prevailing Rate 
Advisory Committee, the national labor-management committee responsible 
for advising OPM on matters concerning the pay of FWS employees, 
recommended this change by consensus. This change would be effective on 
the first day of the first applicable pay period beginning on or after 
30 days following publication of the final regulations.

Regulatory Impact Analysis

    This action is not a ``significant regulatory action'' under the 
terms of Executive Order (E.O.) 12866 (58 FR 51735, October 4, 1993) 
and is therefore not subject to review under E.O. 12866 and 13563 (76 
FR 3821, January 21, 2011).

Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs

    This rule is not an Executive Order 13771 regulatory action because 
this rule is not significant under E.O. 12866.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    OPM certifies that this rule will not have a significant economic 
impact on a substantial number of small entities.

Federalism

    We have examined this rule in accordance with Executive Order 
13132, Federalism, and have determined that this rule will not have any 
negative impact on the rights, roles and responsibilities of State, 
local, or tribal governments.

Civil Justice Reform

    This regulation meets the applicable standard set forth in 
Executive Order 12988.

Unfunded Mandates Act of 1995

    This rule will not result in the expenditure by State, local, and 
tribal governments, in the aggregate, or by the private sector, of $100 
million or more in any year and it will not significantly

[[Page 49484]]

or uniquely affect small governments. Therefore, no actions were deemed 
necessary under the provisions of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 
1995.

Congressional Review Act

    This action pertains to agency management, personnel, and 
organization and does not substantially affect the rights or 
obligations of nonagency parties and, accordingly, is not a ``rule'' as 
that term is used by the Congressional Review Act (Subtitle E of the 
Small Business ``Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (SBREFA)). 
Therefore, the reporting requirement of 5 U.S.C. 801 does not apply.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    This rule does not impose any new reporting or record-keeping 
requirements subject to the Paperwork Reduction Act.

List of Subjects in 5 CFR Part 532

    Administrative practice and procedure, Freedom of information, 
Government employees, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Wages.

Office of Personnel Management.
Stephen Hickman,
Federal Register Liaison.

    Accordingly, OPM is proposing to amend 5 CFR part 532 as follows:

PART 532--PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS

0
1. The authority citation for part 532 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  5 U.S.C. 5343, 5346; Sec.  532.707 also issued under 
5 U.S.C. 552.

0
2. In Appendix D to subpart B amend the table by revising the wage area 
listing for Kentucky to read as follows:

Appendix D to Subpart B of Part 532--Nonappropriated Fund Wage and 
Survey Areas

          Definitions of Wage Areas and Wage Area Survey Areas
 
 
 
 
                                * * * * *
                                KENTUCKY
                          Christian-Montgomery
 
                               Survey Area
 
Kentucky:
  Christian
Tennessee:
  Montgomery
 
                    Area of Application. Survey area.
 
                            Hardin-Jefferson
 
                               Survey Area
 
Kentucky:
  Hardin
  Jefferson
 
                 Area of Application. Survey area plus:
 
Indiana:
  Jefferson
  Johnson
  Martin
Kentucky:
  Fayette
  Madison
  Warren
 

* * * * *
[FR Doc. 2019-20146 Filed 9-19-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 6325-39-P